So I’m back! But I’ve got to deal with a little housekeeping before we get into the food, so please excuse me whilst I discuss something that is not at all food related and a little personal: this post has good news and bad news. The good news is that hey! I’m posting again! I know, that’s hard to believe in itself! The bad news is that I may disappear again because I am not a very well bunny & I’m going to be getting myself better & running back & forth between the doctor’s surgery, hospital & various events, so let me explain (there is food at the end of it, I promise!).

I’ve come to the conclusion that women are pretty insane. It doesn’t matter how old you are, how much life experience you have, or how mature you may appear to be, if you are of the fairer sex you are 100% certifiably mental. I realise this is quite a bold statement to make for my sex but it’s a statement I’m sticking by, because well… girls are weird.

There really is no getting around it: we obsess over every little thing; we talk ourselves in and out of situations a million times; we get mad over stuff that really shouldn’t be a big deal; we’re friends with people we don’t actually like all because we feel that we “have to”; we’re superficial (we are, the amount of make-up we wear is really pretty ridiculous); and we definitely read too much into, well, everything. I know that I do all of those things and more, there simply is no other way to put it: girls are mental.

So I Am A Feeder is one. That went quickly, didn’t it? And can you believe it’s only been a year? I feel like I’ve been doing this my whole life! In fact, it went so quickly I even forgot to celebrate it on the 21st April! Doh.

Originally this post was going to be about what a failure I’ve been in the kitchen lately. I was going to tell you how I’ve nearly fainted in public twice in the past month because I keep forgetting to eat (massive fail!), how I burned my arm on both the rim of my angel food cake tin when I was taking the monkey bread out and the molten sugar that dripped onto me afterwards, how despite the fact that I made it twice I still couldn’t get it right, and how I forgot to take photos of most of it anyway… but I decided that when birthdays come around it’s better to celebrate the good than the bad, and to remember that every experience is an opportunity to learn. So happy blogoversary to me!

If there is anything I really do not care about it’s the Royal Wedding, which as Isabelle pointed out to me the other day probably means that they’re going to kick me out of the country for not being a good little Brit. But I’m sorry, I just can’t muster up a shred of a damn about it.

As you read this I’ve landed in Hong Kong and am at my grandmother’s place to begin my adventure. In the meantime, as promised, here is a brand new feature for I Am A Feeder: Momma Lee’s Naughty Corner! Yep, I love her, you love her, and Momma Lee will be sharing anecdotes, recipes and answering your questions periodically. I just hope she doesn’t say anything too embarrassing… if you have a question you’d like Momma Lee to answer, please send me an email with Momma Lee’s Naughty Corner in the subject field – foodie related or life related – she’ll answer them all! Hope you enjoy and update you on my Odyssey soon!

Momma Lee’s Naughty Corner….too old for ecstasy, too young for lawn bowls*……
(*esoteric and quintessentially British Empire type game of rolling balls over immaculate lawns whilst others take afternoon tea and look on: like curling, without the ice and the mops.)

Well hello my dahlings! I am Momma Lee. Goodness gracious me, not entirely sure how I got here; but I suppose it’s through Baby Lee’s occasional references to my hyuk-hyukking in the corner as she typed her little socks off about her sundry exploits in the kitchen. That has somehow sparked a curiosity amongst some of her readership as to the identity of this invisible guffawer. This then, is my come-uppance: instead of writing 200 lines of “I will not laugh in the kitchen”, I am to sit in my Naughty Corner and become, literally, a Yummy Mummy – and talk to you once in a while about food and cookery. It is after all, my passion as much as it is my daughter’s: she inherited it from me and from ancestors who all loved food, and had food stories to tell. I will share some of those stories and family recipes with you each time I appear in my corner.

Sometimes you are given a challenge so great, so wondrous, that you can do nothing but throw all caution to the wind, grasp it by its metaphorical horns, pull it close, look it in the eye and say, “you’re mine, beeatch”. If you’d like to smack it on the arse at this point as well you have every right to, because a challenge is a challenge, a chance to show the world who’s boss of this kitchen; and today, friends, today that boss is me and four other worthy competitors.

Hello all and a big ol’ happy Christmas to each and every one of you! Nom Man & I hope you’re all having a very lovely day, filled with plenty of fun, family, pressies & tasty, tasty nom. My gift to you is that my give-away, courtesy of Tortilla and myself is still running, and you have until midnight GMT (4pm PST) on the 31st December to get your entries in! The winner will be announced on New Year’s Day, to kick start 2011! Go, go, go!

It’s been a good year with plenty going down in the Feeder Lady household. I turned 23, a very nothing age, but eh, it’s another year in the life of Feeder Lady; graduated and am now a proud holder of a degree in American & English Studies from a top UK university; started this food blog back in April & not only increased my readership from me + Momma Lee, to me + Momma Lee + a lot of lovely people all over the world, but also made some wonderful like-minded friends; Nom Man came into creation (he’ll be back soon, promise!); I got to round 8/10 for Project Food Blog; I planned my foodie trip of a lifetime (leaving in two weeks!); and more recently, finished my job and am now officially a freelance food writer. I think that means it’s been one heck of a year. In the spirit of that, then, here is the rest of what didn’t make it onto the blog. All photos can be found in a larger format on my Flickr.

Do you notice a recurring theme round these here parts of late? Don’t worry though, I haven’t sold out, I’m still the bitter mad soul you all know and love; I’ve just donned a bit of tinsel.

Biscotti, like panettone, are one of those things that would end up in our household around Christmas… then stay in our household for months and months, uneaten, slowly going green, growing legs and practically walking out the front door. Have I mentioned Momma Lee’s tendency to hoard food goods? Unspeakable stenches drift from the open fridge because of her obsession with keeping random leftovers that never get eaten. This may just be an Asian thing: one chicken wing in a tupperware box that sits there for months. Do you know what I’m talking about?

My food memories of such goods are not amazing. But then they were always store-bought, and I will always champion homebaked goods over store-bought. Maybe it was time to mix it up a little and see if I could conquer my biscotti fears with that holiday favourite: cranberries and pistachios.

Yes, that’s right, I’m doing more Christmas-themed posts. It’s two weeks away and if, like me, you haven’t done any Christmas shopping yet, then I’m giving you some ideas about awesome stuff you can make and give. Awesomely tasty stuff, that is. And this is a TWOFER. Win!

There was this one episode of The Simpsons that I have never been able to get out of my head. It was one where Bart really disappointed Marge, and she was so upset with him she wouldn’t put marshmallows into his hot chocolate. He did it himself, but the marshmallow absorbed all of the hot chocolate and became one giant marshmallow he had to eat it with a knife and fork.

I’m not sure why it stuck in my head, maybe because the idea of one giant marshmallow was totally delicious, or just that the thought of marshmallows was always better than the actual taste, maybe just even because it involved food and that’s always going to get my attention. Is it just me who finds store-bought marshmallows incredibly disappointing? They’re always so dry, I’ve never had that delicious fluffy sugary goodness that absorbed Bart’s hot chocolate when I’ve bought them. And the little ones? Don’t get me started on the little ones. They may as well just be sugar cubes.

So when I found a recipe to make my own marshmallows and, better still, it looked ridiculously easy, I jumped at the opportunity.

I’m kidding. Sort of. Because in actual fact, the one thing I hate about Christmas is its material nature and the commercialism. I am a regular old Scrooge when it comes to “holiday cheer/spirit” (phrases I detest). Christmas is the season to buy loads of useless rubbish, apparently. I love the giving, but only if it’s useful. Last year I knitted all my presents.

So why a Christmas-themed post? Because I’ve stumbled upon one Christmas goodie you’ll definitely want to get your hands on: A PIE IN A JAR.